Calendar of Events — July 2017

All programs are free for JANM members and included with admission for non-members, unless otherwise noted. Events are subject to change.

Reservations are recommended for most programs; you may use the links below. You may also RSVP by emailing rsvp@janm.org or calling 213.625.0414 at least 48 hours in advance. Please indicate the name, date, and time of the program, as well as your name and the number of people in your party. (RSVPs are not accepted for Family Festivals).

For all ticketed events (classes, workshops, food tours, etc.), pre-payment is required to hold your space. Cancellations must be made 48 hours in advance or no refund will be issued.

Moving Day

March 23 – August 11, 2017
Daily from sunset to midnight

In conjunction with the exhibition Instructions to All Persons: Reflections on Executive Order 9066, JANM presents Moving Day, an outdoor public art installation. The work consists of a series of projections of the Civilian Exclusion Orders that were publicly posted during World War II to inform persons of Japanese ancestry of their impending forced removal and incarceration. Each projection will coincide with the 75th anniversary date of the specific exclusion order. Projections will take place on the facade of the museum’s Historic Building, the site of Los Angeles’s first Buddhist temple and a pickup point for Japanese Americans bound for concentration camps during World War II.

The Asian American ComiCon Presents: A Summit on Art, Action, and the Future

In 2009, the Asian American ComiCon was held in New York City, bringing together Asian American indie and mainstream comics creators for a historic gathering to celebrate the unique and flourishing graphic storytelling talents of our community. Now, eight years later, AACC is hosting its second event: a Summit on Art, Action, and the Future.

In a time where diversity and creativity are both under attack, the summit will feature diverse creators talking about where we’re going next—creators like Phil Yu (Angry Asian Man, They Call Us Bruce), Jeff Yang (CNN, They Call Us Bruce), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), LaToya Morgan (writer, Into the Badlands), Lewis Tan (Marvel’s Iron Fist), and Keith Chow (The Nerds of Color). A special keynote conversation will feature the pioneering actor and activist George Takei.

The summit will also see the unveiling of New Frontiers, a brand new graphic anthology of original stories inspired by George Takei’s life and legacy—stories about incarceration and exclusion, representation and resistance, the digital world, and the struggle in the streets. AACC will include an Artists’ Alley where leading comics creators will be available for commissions and signings.

Moving Day program presented by GFBNEC

Each night through August 11, from sunset to midnight, Moving Day presents outdoor projections of Civilian Exclusion Order posters, which were issued during World War II to inform persons of Japanese ancestry of their impending forced removal and incarceration. The date of each projection will coincide with the original issue date of the order being projected. Projections take place on the façade of the museum’s Historic Building, the site of Los Angeles’ first Buddhist temple and a pickup point for Japanese Americans bound for concentration camps during World War II.

During the run of Moving Day, JANM and several community partners will present a series of dialogues and events grappling with the legacy of the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. Tonight’s program will be presented by Go For Broke National Education Center and will focus on the roles of Japanese American women during WWII, especially those who served in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).

How to Find Your Japanese Immigrant Ancestors

If you missed the program, you can watch it online on JANM’s YouTube channel.

Learn how to conduct research using the federal immigration and naturalization records maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Find ship passenger records, even if you don’t know when your ancestors arrived in the United States. Explore immigration case files and other federal records that can offer unique insights into the lives of your ancestors at the time of their arrival in this country and how they were affected by immigration policies.

Led by Marisa Louie Lee, former archivist at the National Archives at San Francisco and an avid researcher and genealogist who specializes in federal records.

Outdoor Concert and Movie Night—Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

FREE

Join us for a set by Tim Russ Crew, a pop-rock band led by Star Trek actor Tim Russ, followed by a screening of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), the last of the Star Trek films to feature the entire original cast from the television series, including George Takei as Hikaru Sulu, now commander of the USS Excelsior. Welcome remarks by George Takei (subject to availability).

Film Screening and Q&A—Never Give Up! Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice (Part 1)

If you missed the program, you can watch the post-screening Q&A online on JANM’s YouTube channel.

Join us for the LA premiere of this new documentary by Holly Yasui tracing the early life of her father, the noted civil rights activist Minoru Yasui.

Born in 1916 to Japanese immigrant parents, Yasui was raised in the farming community of Hood River, Oregon, and became that state’s first Japanese American attorney. During the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans by the US government, he set up a practice to help the Japanese immigrant community with their legal needs. He also decided to make himself into a legal test case by purposely violating the curfew that had been imposed on Japanese Americans; he took his appeals all the way to the Supreme Court.

This film, the first of a two-part documentary, ends with Yasui and his family’s experiences during the war. The presentation will include a preview of the forthcoming Part Two, which will cover Yasui’s postwar life as a relentless civil rights activist, a leader in the Japanese American Redress movement, and the posthumous winner in 2015 of a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Q&A to follow with Holly Yasui. Included with museum admission. RSVPs are recommended using the link below.